Joan Nuguid

01 For Jurying Consideration (Sleepy Sally)

Sleepy Sally is an autobiographical allegory of my early experiences as an immigrant. The 2D animation depicts Sally’s pursuit to find a sense of belonging as she goes through the challenging process of making friends in a new environment. My goal for this animation is to craft a story and an atmosphere that encourages people to bring their own experiences to the film.The plot follows the journey of Sally as she searches for a place to sleep in the forest. She finds potential resting places that are unfortunately occupied by other animals already. Only until she frees a bear out of a thorny vine does she gain restful sleep and subsequently feel a sense of belonging. By helping the bear out of a thorny vine she is symbolically overcoming her fear of rejection and opening herself up to new beginnings. Sally’s willingness to help the bear despite her initial fear highlights her development as a character.Immigrating often means adjusting to a completely new culture, language and societal expectations, all of which are difficult to navigate. Fear of rejection can often hinder a person from forming deep and meaningful connections with people, making it even harder to find a community. Sleepy Sally reflects these experiences while demonstrating how to overcome fear one step at a time and finally allowing oneself to search for a new home despite the hardships. It’s important that the style of the film radiates warmth and comfort; this allows for a safe environment that enables the viewers to project their own meaning and narrative to the film, reflecting the sense of belonging that Sally goes through in the animation. The washes and gradation of the backgrounds create a dream-like pleasant atmosphere while the characters are depicted with solid shapes and colours, adapting a style inspired by illustrator Molley May and animations by Tobias Rud. The animation incorporates smear frames instead of precisely drawing each pose creating charming and compelling movements. The bond between the bear and Sally is reflected in the way that they are both animated with smears, in contrast to the animation of the other animals.vimeo password: EXAN2022